“Country Hearts” is an original novel versus a movie adaptation, but I still totally envisioned two particular Hallmark actors when reading this book. I won’t say who I “cast” in this book so that I don’t cause potential readers to be influenced. =) I think this book would make a great movie on Hallmark Channel during next year’s Winterfest. This is the condensed description for “Country Hearts,” courtesy of Amazon.com:
Laid off from her teaching job in the city, Jemma Monroe takes a job teaching in a tiny town and rents a house on the outskirts. When single dad Wyatt Langford meets Jemma, it’s the first time he feels interest in a woman since his wife left. But she’s his daughter’s new teacher, so they both know they should keep their distance.
Nonetheless, Wyatt keeps finding excuses to spend time with Jemma, and Wyatt’s daughter becomes more and more attached to her. With them, Jemma discovers the good things about country life, from starry skies to s’mores cooked over a fire. But she still misses her past life in the city. Is there any reason for them to dream of a future together?
Author Cindy Madsen did such a wonderful job creating full and complete characters. In most books I read (not just those I talk about on this site) there is at least one character that doesn’t quite ring true, but in this case, all of Madsen’s characters were authentic and engaging. It was fun to see the characters grow their friendships over time as big-city Jemma adjusted to small-town life.
At times the story seemed to lag a bit – I felt like the book could have been 50-60 pages shorter and still felt like a 100% intact story. However, in the end I enjoyed reading Jemma and Wyatt fight their mutual admiration (due to past relationships that went sour) while being surrounded by hometown busybodies (and Wyatt’s young daughter Bailey Rae) gently pushing them together every chance they get.
This book is the PERFECT book to read as January’s winter turns to February romance, and it’s a nice easy read.
“Country Hearts” is worth checking out and I think is one of the better offerings from Hallmark Publishing that I’ve read thus far, despite the lagging story in the middle. My hope is that Cindi Madsen (who writes books ranging from sweet to steamy) writes more of these sweet, simple romances. I give it a solid 4 snakes in a ceiling out of 5.
I received an advanced copy from Hallmark Publishing via BookFunnel in order to provide an honest review of the book. All opinions in this review are my own.
